Top earners should contribute more to tax revenue; Need more refineries before pipeline; America needs to stay out of Middle East - SOUND OFF: March 20

This March 12, 2013 photo shows a large pile of pet coke, located close to the Detroit River at Clark St. and Jefferson just west of the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit. Hulking black mounds that have risen recently on two sites along the banks of the Detroit River in southwest Detroit are prompting concerns about potential pollution. The petroleum coke, or pet coke, mounds are a byproduct of oil refining used in energy production. The material has been brought by trucks from the nearby Marathon Petroleum Co. refinery. Area residents, the Canadian government and Democratic U.S. Reps. Gary Peters and John Conyers are among those concerned about the potential impact on the area. (AP Photo/Detroit Free Press, Kathleen Galligan)

In Kathleen Parker's "Free dinner with Obama not enough to convince GOP" column, she used the phrase, "entitlement reform" three times to make it sound like cutting social security and Medicare would be a good thing. Of course, when she mentioned taxes, she didn't go anywhere near the spin word "reform." I suggest that Congress should start with tax reform. If the top earning 1 percent of Americans are awarding themselves 40 percent of the nation's income, then they should be contributing 40 percent of the tax revenues derived from that income.

-- Hazel Park

People have been talking about all the advantages of having a Keystone pipeline built and bringing millions of barrels of oil into the United States. We could have half a dozen pipelines bringing billions of barrels of oil into the United States, but it wouldn't do any good because we don't have the refineries to refine it because the EPA hasn't allowed oil companies to build a new refinery in more 30 years. We need a half-dozen new refineries.

-- Oxford

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The U.S. intelligence agency is behind most of the Arab demonstrations in the Middle East and other demonstrations all over the world. I have a lot of experience in Middle Eastern policies. America needs to mind its own business. America needs to stick to its own constitution and the advice of the Founding Fathers when they said that a neutral relationship with every country aligns itself with none. The American people need to rise up against its own corrupt government. We have the most corrupt government on the face of the Earth, whether it's run by the Republicans or the Democrats.

-- Rochester Hills

I'd advise anyone who wants to learn about fracking, not to pay any attention to the half-baked opinions of fanatical environmentalists. Watch the documentary "Frack Nation" and read EPA reports and other water quality reports that have been done about fracking. The EPA could not find a single instance where any water was affected. This is the same organization, of course, that is pretty fanatically environmentally sound in every other area of the country. If the EPA says it's OK, I don't know what other people are worried about. Lunatics are out there saying it's causing earthquakes and all sorts of weird things. They just don't know what they're talking about.

-- Royal Oak

People in Detroit are against state takeover. All they do is sit on their thumbs. They can thank Kwame Kilpatrick for this.

-- Pontiac

Concerning gay marriage: Gays and lesbians have jobs, own homes and cars, have passports, they travel, eat out, gamble, but in the bedroom, one member of the couple does not have the proper equipment to consummate a real marriage.

-- Rochester Hills

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